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On the left, Black Nova, the character created and published independently by Marv Wolfman in 1967. In the middle, The Man Called Nova, the character published by Marvel Comics in 1976, as written by its then-employee Marv Wolfman. The decision in In re: Marvel Entertainment Group, Inc, 254 B.R. 817, 820–22 (D.C. De. 2000) whether or not they are the same character. On the right, a Nova character as depicted in the recent Marvel Studios blockbuster film “Guardians of the Galaxy.”

There is an assumption among comic book fans that Marvel will continue to use the Nova characters in future movies, perhaps even as a title character. But will Marv Wolfman, the creator of Nova, get his due? (more…)

The DMCA is designed to address several subjects, including “anti-circumvention” technology, which is basically how copyright is protected through technical means rather than by function of law. Some examples of anti-circumvention technology include digital rights management (more…)

There is yet another arrow in the quiver for those taking aim at keeping classic characters and works out of the public domain. In June I posted about a decision finding that Sherlock Holmes, for all intents and purposes, is in the public domain (more…)

In Canada, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office is where people can register patents, trademarks, copyrights and industrial designs. I don’t know how good their non-‘copyright registration’ services are. This is a question about copyright registration.

We are waiting on the ABC v. Aereo (remote DVR service for broadcast television) decision from the Supreme Court. Decisions are generally issued at 10am on Mondays and Thursdays in May and June. The opinions trickle out at a pace of about 3-6 opinions per day, for a total of approximately 70 this term. You can find out more details and follow along at the fantastic SCOTUSblog.com live coverage of new decisions announced from the bench. Because Aereo was argued so late in the term (April 22) and involves a fairly complicated technical issue that the justices will want to handle thoughtfully, SCOTUSblog’s Amy Howe predicts that the decision will come towards the end of the term. The Supreme Court has three remaining days scheduled to issue opinions: Thursday June 19, Monday June 23, and Monday June 30. I wouldn’t be surprised if it Aereo was issued on the last day of the term, but I’ll be watching the live feed on each of those days.

June 23, 2014 update: Still no decision on ABC v. Aereo from the Supreme Court. The Court will be announcing decisions on Wednesday, June 25 and Thursday June 26, and possibly on the final day of the term, Monday June 30. Amy Howe from SCOTUSblog still predicts that ABC v. Aereo will be announced on the last day due to the complexity of the technology at issue, whichever day that happens to be.